The Welcome Table is the Department of Theatre Arts’ new production-based program dedicated to collaborations with artists of diverse heritages, the melding of artistic and critical practice, and community-academic partnerships. Directed by Lisa Jackson-Schebetta, The Welcome Table serves as a theatre based forum through which the academy and the community can engage issues of diversity and social justice in our region, utilizing performance to mobilize the idea that difference is an inherent resource.

Water by the Spoonful, by Pulitzer winning Quiara Alegría Hudes, is the first production in this series in 2015-2016. Winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Quiara Alegría Hudes' play weaves together the lives of a lonely adoptee in Japan, a donut-addicted IRS agent, a haiku-spouting reclusive guru, and two blood cousins from North Philly’s barrio. Through the tenuous connections of their long-distance bonds, these unlikely companions come together in a portrait of American urban life that is dazzling to witness. Water examines the dynamics of a contemporary Latino family and legacies of trauma. Though grounded in Latino/a experience, Hudes’ play thrums with an interrogation of class, violence and national belonging. The production features University of Pittsburgh students and alums, as well as teaching artist, Ricardo Vila-Roger, and guest artist, Sol Crespo. Learn more about the piece here, or by contacting Lisa Jackson Schebetta at lisajsch@pitt.edu.

This event is also sponsored by the Department of Theatre Arts, the Humanities Center and the Center for Latin American Studies. Show times are Tuesday through Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 2 pm, October 22 to November 1. For tickets, please visit play.pitt.edu.

Images from the event: